English
constructive
Constructive comes from Latin cōnstrūctīvus, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *strew- ‘to spread, strew’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strew-‘to spread, strew’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnstrūctīvus
- Englishearliest quotation 1978constructive
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strew-‘to spread, strew’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnstrūctīvus
- Englishearliest quotation 1978constructive
Earliest quotation: 1978, 1976, Leszek Kołakowski: “At the same time, it was Marx's view that…”
Equivalent to construct + -ive
Proto-Indo-European *strew- ‘to strew, to spread out’
…
Proto-Italic *strowō ‘to pile up’
Latin struō ‘to heap up, pile’
Latin cōnstruō ‘to heap together’
Latin cōnstrūctus ‘collected together’
English construct
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *strew- ‘to spread, strew’
destroy, structure, strain, instrument, straw, destruction, stray, instructor, destructive, obstruction, instruct, obstruct, perestroika, stripling, misconstrue, 13 more
Today it means
adj Relating to or causing construction.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *strew- / constructive